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CEGL005275 Dasiphora fruticosa - Myrica gale Shore Fen

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shrubby-cinquefoil - Sweetgale Shore Fen

Colloquial Name: Shrubby-cinquefoil - Sweetgale Rich Shore Fen

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community is typically found on marly coastal sites in northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the United States and possibly Canada. These sites occupy embayments of open, sandy shorelines where limestone bedrock or cobble is at or near the surface. These sites have calcareous soils (with a pH as high as 8.2), resulting either from calcareous substrates, waterflow off adjacent limestone bedrock or limestone-rich till, or algal precipitation of calcium carbonate in the relatively warm, carbonate-saturated waters. These ''marly flats'' contain a rich assemblage of calciphilic plants. Short shrubs dominate parts of these areas. Typical dominants include Myrica gale and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda, generally over 60% (?). Larix laricina and Salix pedicellaris are often present. The herbaceous layer is variable in cover and composition, sometimes shaded out by the heavy shrub cover. Species include Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex viridula, Carex lasiocarpa, and Cladium mariscoides.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This type typically occurs as part of a ~Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Complex (CECX005702)$$. It is drier and more shrubby than the graminoid rich shore fen, ~Calamagrostis canadensis - Carex viridula - Cladium mariscoides - Lobelia kalmii Fen (CEGL005115)$$. Perhaps the shrub and graminoid type can be combined, depending on their spatial extent.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: These "marly flats" contain a rich assemblage of calciphilic plants. Short shrubs dominate parts of these areas. Typical dominants include Myrica gale and Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda (= Pentaphylloides floribunda), generally over 60% (?). Larix laricina and Salix pedicellaris are often present. The herbaceous layer is variable in cover and composition, sometimes shaded out by the heavy shrub cover. Species include Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex viridula, Carex lasiocarpa, and Cladium mariscoides (Minc and Albert 1998).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  These sites occupy embayments of open, sandy shorelines where limestone bedrock or cobble is at or near the surface. These sites have calcareous soils (with a pH as high as 8.2), resulting either from calcareous substrates, water flow off adjacent limestone bedrock or limestone-rich till, or algal precipitation of calcium carbonate in the relatively warm, carbonate saturated waters (Minc and Albert 1998).
Geographic Range: This community is typically found on marly coastal sites in northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in the United States, in both northern Michigan and northern Wisconsin, and possibly in Ontario, Canada.

Nations: CA,US

States/Provinces:  MI, ON, WI


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1G2

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.2 Temperate to Polar Bog & Fen Formation F016 2.C.2
Division 2.C.2.Na North American Bog & Fen Division D029 2.C.2.Na
Macrogroup 2.C.2.Na.2 Shrubby cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge / Star Campylium Moss Alkaline Fen Macrogroup M877 2.C.2.Na.2
Group 2.C.2.Na.2.e Shrubby-cinquefoil - Woolly-fruit Sedge Eastern Boreal Alkaline Fen Group G804 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Alliance A4400 Smooth Sawgrass - Needle Beaksedge - <i>Solidago ohioensis</i> Shore Fen Alliance A4400 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Association CEGL005275 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Sweetgale Shore Fen CEGL005275 2.C.2.Na.2.e
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda - Myrica gale Rich Shore Fen Shrubland (Faber-Langendoen 2001) [Shore Fen Great Lakes Subtype]
Concept Author(s): D. Faber-Langendoen (2001)

Author of Description: D. Faber-Langendoen

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-12-00
  • Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
  • Kost, M. A., D. A. Albert, J. G. Cohen, B. S. Slaughter, R. K. Schillo, C. R. Weber, and K. A. Chapman. 2007. Natural communities of Michigan: Classification and description. Report No. 2007-21, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing. 314 pp. [http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/reports/2007-21_Natural_Communites_of_Michigan_Classification_and_Description.pdf]
  • Lee, H., W. Bakowsky, J. Riley, J. Bowles, M. Puddister, P. Uhlig, and S. McMurray. 1998. Ecological land classification for southern Ontario: First approximation and its application. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Southcentral Science Section, Science Development and Transfer Branch. SCSS Field Guide FG-02.
  • Midwestern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Minc, L. D., and D. A. Albert. 1998. Great Lakes coastal wetlands: Abiotic and floristic characterization. Great Lakes Wetlands 9(3):1-15.
  • ONHIC [Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre]. 2018. Unpublished data. Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario, Canada.
  • WDNR [Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]. 2015. The ecological landscapes of Wisconsin: An assessment of ecological resources and a guide to planning sustainable management. PUB-SS-1131 2015. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison. [http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/landscapes/Book.html]